§ Mr. IngramTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many professional scientists and engineers of each category were employed at each grade in the headquarters division of his Department in each year from 1991 to the current year. [19798]
§ Mr. Boswell[holding answer 11 March 1996]: The numbers of qualified engineers employed in my Department in the headquarters division of flood and coastal defence, excluding those based outside London, are as follows:
- At 1 March:
- 1991: 8
- 1992: 6
- 1993: 7
- 1994: 7
- 1995: 7
- 196: 6
A number of those employed in the headquarters building and estates management division also hold engineering qualifications.
The numbers of full-time equivalent staff employed in the scientific grades in the headquarters divisions now represented by the chief scientist's group and the food safety and science group are as follows:
At 1 March 11991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Assistant scientific officer 12 2 2 1 1 1 Scientific officer 37 17 14 18 12 13.6 Higher scientific officer 40.5 31 28.5 32 38.5 34.8 Senior scientific officer 28 33 31.5 32 34.5 29.4 Principal scientific officer 27.5 21 21 33.5 25.5 20.4 1 Figures for 1991 include staff based at the food science laboratory, Norwich. For open structure grades above grade 7, records do not separately identify posts held by staff with scientific qualifications. However, it is possible to give the following breakdown for senior grades in the headquarters divisions of the chief scientist's group and the food safety and science group as of 1 March 1996:
Postholders whose qualifications include a scientific degree or equivalent Grade 6 16 Grade 5 5 Grade 3 2 These figures include those on fixed-term appointments, but exclude any employed on a consultancy basis.
All the figures given apply to core Department headquarters divisions only. They do not include the large numbers of staff in other areas who hold scientific or 579W engineering qualifications, for example, those in the directorate of fisheries research, many of the employees of the agencies, veterinary surgeons, economists and statisticians. It would be disproportionately expensive to list all of these.